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He-Man
He-Man is the main character of several animated series related to the Masters of the Universe toyline created by Mattel, and most regarded for the 1983 series by Filmation. In most of his incarnations, he is Prince Adam, who must defend Eternia and the secrets of Castle Grayskull from the evil forces of Skeletor. COMICS He-Man's first appearance in media was not in animation, but in comics released with the original toys. He-Man was much different in his early appearances: he was a barbarian from the Eternian tribe, living in the aftermath of a great war which devastated many civilizations. He-Man was given advanced weaponry by the Sorceress, so he could defend Castle Grayskull from Skeletor. One other thing worth noting about these early comics is that He-Man possessed one half of the Power Sword, whereas Skeletor possessed the other half. If the two halves were joined, they would provide the key to Castle Grayskull. This is why the earliest Masters of the Universe action figures could combine their swords into one. Later comics would follow the model set by his appearances in animation. ANIMATION By 1983, He-Man was heavily revised from his earlier incarnation. He was given his more well-known identity of Prince Adam, the son of King Randor and Queen Marlena, who ruled Eternia (which by this point had been upgraded from a tribe to a kingdom and planet). The Sorceress gave him the power to transform into He-Man by raising his Power Sword (which he now fully owned) and saying "By the power of Grayskull…". When the transformation was complete, he would say the now-famous line "I HAVE THE POWER!". His pet tiger Cringer could also be transformed into Battle Cat-which was discovered by accident. Other allies of He-Man were the Sorceress, Orko, Man-At-Arms, and Teela, among others-and only the first three knew of Adam's secret identity. He also had a twin sister named She-Ra, who was created for a spin-off series in 1985. As before, He-Man and his allies must defend Castle Grayskull from Skeletor. ABILITIES As He-Man, Adam possesses super-speed and super-strength. He can remain as He-Man for as long as he wants. However, if he should take too much damage, he will forcibly revert to Adam. He is also very quick and acrobatic, and is implied to have telepathy in the original cartoon. Despite his immense strength, He-Man is mostly non-violent. He usually outsmarts his enemies, only using combat as a last resort, and in the original cartoon his most violent moves were body-throws (due to standards of the time, Filmation was not allowed to show He-Man using his sword as an offensive weapon, or punch or kick anyone-though he was allowed to destroy robots). In the 1987 movie and 2002 series he is far more aggressive. His primary weapon is, of course, his sword (except in the early comics, where the sword was a plot device and he used an ax instead). It is seemingly indestructible and can reflect bolts of energy. And lastly, as said in the intro, he is "the most powerful man in the universe". APPEARANCES Note: This does not yet include his comic appearances, only television and movie appearances. He-Man and the Masters of the Universe (1983-1985) The Secret of the Sword (1985) She-Ra: Princess of Power (1985-1986): While not a main character, He-Man did make cameo appearances He-Man & She-Ra: A Christmas Special (1985) Masters of the Universe (1987) The New Adventures of He-Man (1990) He-Man and the Masters of the Universe (2002-2004) Category:Cartoon character Category:Pictureless